Juk 粥 with Smoked Ham Hocks

Lately in Chicago, we’ve been having unseasonably cooler weather and when mornings are colder, I like to make juk 粥 more. There's nothing wrong with having it when it's warm. After all, it's a really popular breakfast in southern China in Guangdong province. Don’t get this confused with how jianbing has been described in the US as a popular breakfast in China. In Guangdong, jianbing isn't popular at all and is known by locals as a northerner kind of breakfast food. Variations of juk is found all across Southeast Asia and East Asia with distinct localized versions of ingredients and condiments added to it. 

I’ve been making this periodically for a few years already and don’t remember how I came up with the idea other than seeing these ingredients at the grocery store and thinking it would go well together. Something interesting that I’ve noticed at grocery stores in Chicago is that as the clientele of a store caters more to Black or Latino people, I see a bigger selection of smoked pork and turkey cuts, such as ham hocks, neck bones, turkey tails, turkey drumsticks, or sometimes turkey backs. These are all great to add to soups or stews and they’re inexpensive too. In grocery stores that serve mostly white customers, it’s pretty hard to find this, even smoked ham hocks might be tucked away in the freezer section if they even have it. 

My parents made it often plain, with pork bones, and sometimes with lobster. There’s a version of this that I believe is made with almond kernels which gives a distinct bitter flavor, and grew on me over time. One of my favorite versions is with thinly sliced lean pork and century eggs since I think that combination goes great together. 

Making this is pretty forgiving and the core concept of this dish is that you’re simmering each ingredient in a single pot so it ends at just the right texture. If you make the plainest version of this, it’s pretty much rice, a lot of water, and salt. You can adjust the amount of water to your liking, but I like on the thinner side. And of course, with Cantonese parents, this is something you were fed when you got sick. 

Recipe:
1 cup rice (long grain, preferred)
12 cups water
2 smoked ham hocks
1 medium carrot
Yam leaves or watercress
Salt
White pepper

In a large pot, add the ham hocks and 12 cups of water and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, drop the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the rice, drain and set aside. Peel and mince the carrot and set aside as well. (You don’t have to mince the carrot and you can cut them into a different shape, but you’ll need to add it at a different time to cook them. I cut them this way so the texture will be similar to the rice in the recipe.)

After the ham hocks have been simmering for 30 minutes, add the rice, and gently stir. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the water back to a boil. As soon as it boils, drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes. 

Add the minced carrots, stir, cover and resume simmering for another 30 minutes. 

At this point the ham hocks should be very tender. Remove them from the pot and set aside for 15-20 minutes to cool until you can handle them. When they are cooled, debone the ham hocks, dice the meat, and add the meat back to the juk. Add salt and white pepper to taste. 

Just before serving, while the juk is very hot and in a bowl. Mince yam leaves (with stems) or watercress. For about every 1 cup of juk, I like about ¼ to ⅓ cup of minced yam leaves or watercress to be mixed in each bowl, but you can adjust this to your liking too. 

And of course, since this is juk, you can feel free to add whatever condiments you like too.

*This juk keeps well in the fridge for a few days if you only have the smoked ham hocks and carrots cooked in it. It’s best to mince the yam leaves or watercress as you need it so it tastes fresh each time. When I’m in a rush to work in the mornings, I also just mince the veggies add it to a bowl of cold juk, cover it plastic wrap and microwave it to heat it back up.